it's a form of religion. i really believe that. in which you don't have to, you don't have any morality, you just have places to go to worship. [laughter] >> by the way, we're going to -- i'm going to ask one more question, and then we're going to open it up to all of you who i'm sure have lots of questions for tom. finally, tom, after "bonfire of the vanities" you got into a few tiffs with other authors about what real writing is. you guys were particularly nastiest with mailer, updike and irving, referring to that -- if i remember correctly -- as the three stooges. were you just trying to start a fight just to be provocative? there seemed to be a choosing up of sides, and many along the 43rd street corridor at the time new york magazine often cited the scene with mailer and company. do you think this fight has had a negative impact on reviewers of your book? in other words, do you think they use each new book as a chance to get even? >> in a word, yes. [laughter] i couldn't resist. everyone always said never answer a review, it's